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Shutterstock is about to make an unexpected change on June 1st regarding the company’s paying scheme and cut every contributors share almost in half. The company used to pay 30% per license to it’s contributors (which was also a bad deal but at least an acceptable one) and now introduces a new payment structure, where that percentage will vary from 15% to 40% according to the amount of annual licenses that are sold from every individual artist’s portfolio. Of course you have to sell 25.000 licenses (this is impossible) in one year to reach that 40% and even if you do, every January 1st your level automatically resets to Level 1, so back to 15% until you reach that number again in the end of the year (spoiler: you won’t). This practically means that the vast majority of contributors will experience a 50% reduction to their income from SS. I am a SS contributor for 5 years now and only a tiny fraction of my income comes from stock footage but i know many people who have invested on this and they are making a living from selling clips and photos on micro stock sites. I guess this is a legal move on paper and it’s definitely covered by one of those filthy pdf agreements. But given this hard period we are all crossing, those unethical moves made by greedy CEOs in order to transfer the loss on the back of content creators have at least to be judged and condemned by our creative community.

Your NTG2 isn't exactly a quiet microphone. Plus usually it is a person's technique more than their gear which makes the result unbearably noisy. For an example of awful technique, I experienced that first hand yesterday! Was cycling around town, and got interviewed by an agency crew out doing voxpops for their client's campaign. Was a very small "crew" of 3: The person doing the interviewing A person handholding a Sony a7 series camera (with a rodelink on it, I assume the interviewer was wearing the transmitter) A 3rd person, who was holding a Zoom H6 *(and NOTHING ELSE! Yes, just the H6 by itself! wtf) So was interviewed by them, and I couldn't but help ask him "would you like me to hold that for you?" Because he was holding it soooooo faaaaaaaar AWAY If you're not going to swing a boom, or use a stick mic, at least hold the H6 in closer! I really had to restrain myself yesterday Like when he was saying "it's very directional, works great!" BUT IT IS A HANDHELD ZOOM!! With an XY capsule on it!!!! arrrggghhh Not to mention, HOW. FAR. AWAY. he was standing from me It wasn't even like he was trying to reach out with his arm to get closer or anything, he was just holding the Zoom H6 by his side For half a second I was tempted to take pity on them, go back home to grab a length of XLR cable and a shotgun or a reporter's mic so they could use that today instead. But meh, I was running behind on some deliveries yesterday so had to go do those asap It wasn't like we were standing next to a water fountain while interviewing me or anything like that Oh hang on THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE WERE DOING (next to the waterfountain/waterfall in the park behind the Cathedral downtown)

I doesn’t work this way. We are talking about 5.000 gigabytes of footage that have to be uploaded and pass the curation process. And you are wondering why this would take months? I can see your point of view. But these are the same words that they are using to justify their actions. The truth is that the stock footage industry saw a significant growth during the pandemic and while other stock footage agencies like Dreamstime decided to help the community by increasing their royalties with 10%, Shutterstock saw a chance to make more money and attract new investors. Of course this is their service and they make their own rules. This is true for all companies after all. But If we where all so cynical to accept this as a justification for any injustice against working people then i guess we would have more serious issues to deal with.

From my perspective as a production sound mixer (note: my perspective isn't the same as everyone else! For instance in my eyes the F4 is clearly massively preferable to the MixPre3mk1, while for a solo OMB videographer they'd want the MixPre instead): No. Wind should be almost next to meaningless for your recorder itself. So the issue is your mic, so get proper wind protection. Do you have a blimp? What exactly is the setup you're recording usually?

I refuse to acknowledge that the so called Zoom "F1" is part of the excellently awesome Zoom F Series. Doesn't. Exist. To. Me. Perhaps the Shure VP83F LensHopper fits your purpose better for a "camera mounted recorder/mic combo"? https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html The main "big" changes with Gen1 vs Gen2 of the MixPre recorders are: 1) internal timecode 2) Gen2 got a price drop 3) backs up to a USB thumbdrive (but this isn't true redundancy) 4) 32bit recording (which is overhyped in my opinion) The Fostex FR2LE falls into the same category as for instance the Roland R44 I mentioned earlier. In that, for its time (which was well over a decade ago!!) the Fostex FR2LE was an attractive kit for someone on a tight budget, because it could hold up to prosumer standards and thus for the low price of roughly around about £400inc it proved good value for money. But today in 2020, I don't think you can make a solid argument it is worthwhile swapping a DR60Dmk2 for a Fostex FR2LE instead, even though they sell for similar prices eBay.

Yes, how to remain unscathed after it is released is the challenge, and Banksy did come to mind when I was reading your post. I guess there's a few options: Use your real name, go under the radar while filming then risk the fallout after it is released Use a production company / name and don't put your real name in the credits - they might still find out who you are but you can always deny it while people you know and film circles can "all know it's you" Use a production company / name and take measures to ensure that no-one can trace it to you, knowing that ultimately the fame and glory associated with that name will not get added to your own Obviously I don't know Banksy, but my completely uneducated guess would be that he/she/they would suggest that you create the alter-ego with as close to zero links to yourself as possible, and use that anonymity to pursue as honest and uninhibited an agenda as you can, and take payment from the work in terms of reward for authenticity and contribution to humanity. Of course, Banksy is also very likely a hugely successful individual independently of their Banksy persona, so they don't need the money or fame, whereas I'm sure you probably could do with a bit more of that (unless you're secretly a famous rich person hanging out here talking about consumer cameras for some reason!). Of course, there's always bitcoin....

Yes, unless you can get lucky and score a MixPre3 for cheap. (and don't mind dropping down your number of max channels from four with the DR60D to three with the MixPre3)

I completely agree with all of this and echo that same experience. The worst shot that I took in a Champions League final was always ten times better subjectively to a viewer (and to me too) than the best shot I ever took in a lower league match. A man jogging along on some grass with a ball at his feet and no one within ten metres of him is a pretty dull shot unless that man was Lionel Messi and that grass was the pitch at the Camp Nou and the people that were ten metres away were part of a sell out crowd of 100,000 people. I'd also 100% agree about finding interesting subject matter away from that environment and back in the "real" world particularly for someone like me who was into self isolation way before it became mainstream. I'm partly "all the gear and no idea" when it comes to video but thanks to my somewhat, erm, challenging personality I'm mainly "plenty of lens but not many friends" so lack collaborative partners or subjects. Its unfortunate but, as you say, best to make peace with it.

An average portfolio of a full time stock footage provider consists of 5.000 to 10.000 clips on average. As @JurijTurnsek said, uploading all these clips and moving metadata on another agency will take months. And even then it will take longer than a year for these clips to start selling again. Adobe Stock and Pond5 are more contributor friendly regarding their paying schemes but Shutterstock is leading this market for the last 10 years through aggressive marketing. As i said i am not directly affected by this as i have a tiny collection but i always considered this market as a great side job for content creators especially now that the market has taken a big hit and almost every summer shooting session is cancelled. This is one of those changes that are taking place in total silence (i guess major news portals won’t even report this as Shutterstock sponsors all of them) even though millions of people are affected. They even delete commends on Twitter and Facebook as content creators are furious and their only chance to be heard is through social media.

So many times I wish I were a photographer instead You can get a beautiful shot with a camera that looks the same whether moving or still... But movement always has to justify itself. If the frame floats or moves with IBIS, shot dead. Mood gone. It's such a fine art. Camera movement is such a fussy thing. It's like colour - There's no point it being there unless the movement is beautiful or has meaning. Otherwise, may as well be still - or black and white. With a photo you can just make a pretty shot and it's job done. It's about timing, framing. With video you have to sustain all that's nice and has meaning for 10x longer. Sometimes 1000x longer. With photos there's the one-man nature of it... with video, you have to rely on others a lot more - actors, writers, and so on. And that's before you've even started the shoot Sometimes I hate video. And think I'd be better off with a Fuji GFX 50R, just enjoying myself. Just one man and his camera. With video, you often have to lug around rigs, tripods and monitors. To anybody who sustains their filmmaking over the years at a high level I salute you. It must be incredibly stressful!

That is super cool!! I'm really looking forward to seeing you get this up and running It makes sense now why you said you'd be mounting the sensor onto the lens. In this sense, maybe your mounting method could be to mount the mount to an adjustable setup, so you can easily and accurately adjust the sensor to the right flange distance. Ie, if you put a couple of nuts on the opposite side of the board to the sensor, then had the thing mount onto some bolts, then by rotating either the nuts or the bolts (depending on how you built it) then you could screw the sensor closer or further away to lock it in. This could be a relatively easy way to have a secure mount that is easy to get exact infinity focus on. Do you know how good the RAW signal is? If it's a half-decent sensor and the RAW is RAW then it should be pretty close to the RAW from any other camera with a half-decent sensor.

Ah ok right. I had heard Alexa’s was a log raw and also the Ursa. So I guess it’s Pockets, Canons, lower end Sonys, and ProRes RAW that are 12-bit linear. I was surprised to hear the FX9 will shoot 16-bit, but I guess you need that bulky add-on module? But the Komodo won’t do internal ProRes will it? So it’s raw or nothing I guess. I kind of like how the Pockets will let you shoot ProRes and bake in a LUT if you want avoid grading.

I think when you get very close to relatively small things is when you can't substitute for a slider, e.g. when doing product videos for advertising / online stores or also when doing cooking show / recipe type of stuff. You can try to replicate it with a gimbal but there's zero reproducability and because of the small scale of everything, even the little bit less stability and off-axis movement you get with a gimbal can screw up the shot. It's very different if I close in on a person with a gimbal to end with a medium close-up shot or if I have to close in on a single shoe and end up with a close up of the laces, for example. Different tools for different applications.

Lou Mix Evie F Elsie D Len Scap Dee Paf Mo Dyal Jay Pegg Mike Rofourthirds Anna Morphic Bo Keh

thanks for that info heart0less. I think for now a circular 1/8 in 58mm will cover most of my lenses and is cheap enough to experiment with. I kind of like a subtle look, less is more, well that's the way I'm leaning at the moment 😀

The RED helium does seem to be on par with the Alexa from tests I've seen. Like it has been said more in the shadows less in the highlights. I've been unclear on this. The RED raw is 16 bit linear. While the Alexa is taking the 16 bit color information and mapping it into 12 bit 444 log or Arri Raw Log. When you open it up in resolve it maps it as 16 bit linear. From what I understand 12 bit log is equal to 16 bit linear. The Blackmagic URSA or actually all of the BM cameras with a Fairchild sensor do the same thing(other than the Pocket 4k/6k which have a sony sensor).

Yeah, I ordered direct from the konova site and they have 4 size options total from 60cm-120cm, all priced within $25 of each other, so it seems like a great option for timelapse stuff. I'll report back soon

I can confirm the 1990's and well into the 2000's. The type of cameraman making a decent living in my corner of the world never required any particularly creative skills. In many ways, it still doesn't, but if you were a shooter with even a semblance of knowledge and some kind of refinement, you'd be at an advantage because you knew how to run the beast camera systems. Film cameras, an Ikagami NTSC tube cam, "portable" 3/4" tape deck...that sort of thing. However, because you can point a camera obviously doesn't mean squat now that everyone's got 'em. Yeah, back in the day just getting access to the gear and learning the basics of the craft could get you through. I could push a GrassValley switcher to it's analog limits and edit quickly and cleanly on any linear tape deck system, so that skill set had value for a time. But that's the other side of the coin for being enamored with technology and putting your focus on that side of things. It's always going to change and advance. Tiger by the tail stuff. OTOH, the practice of composition, storytelling, lighting. etc. That's pretty solid. I don't think the "passive viewer" aspect of story telling is going away anytime soon. We all still want to gather around the fire and be told stories.

Can you not find any used first-generation MixPre for sale? Now that the second generation is available with 32-bit floating point, a lot of people have been selling their first-generation recorders. Having 32-bit float can be useful for location sound when level changes are unpredictable, but plenty of people managed just fine for decades without it. I'm still using a first-generation MixPre 6 and have no plans to upgrade to the new generation.

All good ideas. For my project, I'm mounting the camera and a Pi inside a Bolex. Essentially, the sensor will be more or less where the film would run past the lens.There will be a small difference to ensure infinity focus, but the theory is still the same. the 1m marking on the lens will still focus to 1m away. Mounting it this way means I can keep the turret system, as the lenses screw into the body, not onto the sensor. It'll work much better for maintaining the whole look and feel of shooting on 8mm film. Of course, the files won't act or look like film, but using the camera will feel similar, and onlookers will think I'm really artistic. The only difference, in usable terms, is the winder on the side, and the frame rate selector won't do anything. Everything else will work as it once did with film. This is currently not working. I put the pi and switches inside the case to see how much room I have to play with. To give you an idea, I could probably put 2 more Pis in there. That said, this does not yet have the sensor or a battery in the case. Before that though, I need to find time to mount the sensor and have it lined up. The weather here is too nice to be tinkering with that, but hope to have it done in the next few weeks. Once the sensor is in, it's then a case of securely mounting the pi, battery, LEDs and switches. (the switches in the gif are only there for testing. I have smaller, more subtle ones that I'll mount onto the camera. From the outside I want it to look as original as possible.)

"Mike Russell" 😉 Or "Justin Frame"

Same feeling here. Often it can be quite "relative", depending on the context. If I'm doing a no-budget short film with a couple of mates, then sure I can call myself on that set a "DoP" if that is what role I'm doing. But if I'm on a professional set, being paid my full day rate for what I usually do as a sound mixer, then I'd be mad to refer to myself there also as a "DoP" when around actually properly seriously experienced people!! As I'd be way out of my depth. (however, it isn't too much of a stretch to call myself a "sound mixer" though! As that I can justify) Depends on what you mean by "easier". For example, back in the pre-DSLR world, if someone simply owned a broadcast camera (such as a new Sony HDW-750) then they could get a fairly steady stream of work due to simply owning that camera. As you'd be a rarity! These days owning a Panasonic GH5 (or even a Sony FS7) is pretty meaningless, as dozens other people also have the same gear too. So in one sense of the word, it was easier to "buy your way into the industry" than it is today? That's true too. Back in day it took a certain level of minimal technical competency to get a good image with a analogue camera, so if you had that skill that often might be sufficient to get your work (might be just basic run of the mill, bread & butter, work. But, it was still work!). Of course that isn't applicable now, a higher standard is expected! Bingo! Is annoying enough just having a boom op under you who isn't living up to your expectation as a Mixer for what you want from him! But being a director, and being disappointed by the entire crew (and cast!) because they're not living up to the high expectations you've got in your mind? That's a stressful day! Deciding to focus on the Sound Department and specialize, was one of my best decisions ever.

But but but Video IS easy! So is stills photography. FILM making on the other hand is very difficult. I am not now and never will be a film maker. Every time I tried, my mind would just be blank (permanent writers block??). I am (I think) a reasonable photographer and my videos pretty much consist of bands playing songs live and that is as simple as finding a spot, putting the camera on a tripod with mic facing the band, set camera to suit and hit record and turn off after the song. From time to time a few very short videos experimenting with stuff as well. The new little Sony vlogging RX1## camera would be great for me (not that i will get it) I would not use it for vlogging but to do the same as i do with my A7s for recording songs but in a tiny package that would make it even easier.

If anyone besides me use HLG, here is a little normalization LUT I'm guilty of. I didn't use any charts, so it may be slightly untruthful and inaccurate.. ( : No need to overexpose, it's designed to bring out as much DR as possible while still achieving black and white points.

I understand the situation that you pose, I live in a country where human rights are trampled by the state, despite the visits of the UN, Amnesty International HRW, it is increasingly difficult to register these violations, the state and its police, you They chase, destroy your equipment and harass you. I am currently working on a project to denounce these acts and I am evaluating the same alternative, beyond the use of a pseudonym, it is about avoiding pressures, jail or harassment of your family. I personally believe that documentary cinema has a commitment to historical memory and is a small act of cultural resistance.